Photo courtesy of Justin Malone.

I walk with Dr. Malone to his office on a Tuesday afternoon. It’s the passing period before seventh block, and he makes sure to acknowledge each student in his path, even stopping to observe a rock-paper-scissors battle. As the warning bell rings, he encourages the few stragglers in the hallway to get to class on time, with a few “I believe in you” phrases; this phrase- a seemingly unmeaningful phrase, was popularized after last year’s “reset” by random welcoming volunteers. However, after my conversation with him, I realized the authenticity behind Dr. Malone’s affirmations. 

When the principal position became vacant, Dr. Malone felt that the school needed “someone to champion Charlottesville High School,” and also “somebody who knows it and who believes in Charlottesville High School.” When it comes to these values, Dr. Malone feels that he “possesses some of these traits.”

Dr. Malone’s belief in CHS can be seen in his wishes and goals for the whole student body. “I can’t undervalue or underestimate or understate just how significantly important it is for students to graduate high school,” he says, while then explaining how he wants students to know that, “I expect that from them and I want to support them doing that.”

Other than focusing on getting students ready to graduate, Malone says one of his main goals is to foster a meaningful high school experience for all CHS students. 

“I still think that there seems to be some opportunity that exists around making sure that there are students engaged in things that they are passionate about and excited about,” he reveals. Whether a student is interested in attending a four-year college, heading to the military, or working in some sort of service industry, Malone explains that he wants to make sure those pathways are “cultivated” at CHS. “That might be through dual enrollment, the development of different club-based experiences, different pathways that might lead towards either career or technical work, service industry stuff, or even military service experiences.” 

Additionally, over the course of this year, Malone says there are things that he thinks “are a meaningful part of the student experience,” that he hopes to bring back. One of these is senior lunch (where students would be allowed to leave school grounds during lunch). In Malone’s opinion, this decision will give seniors the opportunity to “demonstrate that they can be responsible and prepared for it,” even though senior lunch has not been in effect for many years, but it has existed before. In fact, it existed 11 years ago, when Malone became an assistant principal at CHS in 2013.  

From 2013 to 2017, Malone continued his work as an assistant principal at CHS. It may be 7 years since Malone worked in this school, but he does not believe much has changed. 

For Malone, the school “energy” feels just like he remembered it. “It’s just a vibrant space full of really creative people that are from a variety of different experiences,” he says. “That energy is my favorite thing- something new every day.”